Climate change makes English winemakers see red

Medieval warm period

English winemakers see the trend partly as the pendulum swinging back in their favour.

Britain experienced a "Medieval warm period" in the centuries around 1000 A.D., said Philip Brohan, climate scientist at the UK's national weather service, the Met Office.

This allowed winemaking, introduced to Britain by the Romans, to thrive under the Normans before declining, said Professor Richard Selley, author of "The Winelands of Britain".

Historians say an increase in trade with France and King Henry VIII's 16th-century dissolution of the monasteries -- which operated many vineyards -- were also likely factors.

Brohan said the current warming cycle is more severe than the medieval one, and scientists stress carbon dioxide emissions are behind the man-made climate change of the present day. Nonetheless, UK vineyards still struggle to ripen grape varieties which produce the most popular red wines.

Pinot Noir produce the fine Burgundy reds but it is only every few years those grown in English vineyards ripen sufficiently to allow the production of a single variety wine.

Most years in the past decade or so that UK growers have been making reds, they have blended Pinot Noir with other grapes such as Dornfelder, a Germanic variety which ripens more easily but which is not considered as flavoursome.

So far, producers have not managed to master the varieties behind the famous full-bodied wines of Bordeaux, such as Merlot, Carbernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc, although some have tried to grow these under plastic sheeting.

This has yielded reds that are generally lighter in colour and taste, and less alcoholic than wines from warmer climates.

Visitors sampling the red wines in Denbies cellar said they were pleasantly surprised.

"It's tasty," said Mario Garcalo from Portugal, as he sipped a Pinot Noir-Dornfelder blend in the large, musty, barrel-lined underground tasting room.

Not everyone is won over. Wine buyer Field said while some "very nice" reds are being made, Berry Brothers has been unable to find one it feels is good enough to stock.

Cost

Another factor working against English reds is cost. With annual red wine output of around 400,000 bottles and total output of just over 2 million bottles, against 7-8 billion bottles in France, the industry lacks economies of scale.

English red wines retail at around 8 pounds ($13.09) a bottle, against an average price of 4.26 pounds/bottle for wine in the UK, according to consumer data provider Nielsen.

For the time being, the economics favour production of sparkling wine, where English producers find it easier to compete both in terms of price and quality, said Chris Foss, Head of the Wine Department at Plumpton College in East Sussex.

That may change if Copenhagen fails to curb carbon dioxide emissions.

"It's a disaster in lots of other ways but I'm looking forward the UK making some interesting Pinot Noirs and Cabernet Francs," Foss said.